NO TOTAL LOCKDOWN; DUTERTE DECIDES ON ECQ TOMORROW

MANILA — With the end of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) just eight

days away, expect no total lockdown to follow, presidential spokesman Harry

Roque said yesterday.

He said a total lockdown was not among the preferred scenarios raised by

health experts specifically former secretaries of the Department of Health

(DOH) during their meeting with President Duterte on Monday.

Roque said health authorities have voiced preference for extending the

current quarantine or having it “modified” or relaxed in some areas.

Duterte is set to announce tomorrow the next step the government will take

after the scheduled lifting of quarantine on April 30, according to Sen.

Bong Go.

At MondayÂ’s meeting, Roque said the President asked the health experts about

different post-quarantine or “modified ECQ scenarios – like the possibility

of a second wave of infection.”

Secretary to the Cabinet and IATF spokesman Karlo Nograles assured the

public that the IATF and Malacañang have been working on an anti-COVID-19

strategy based on the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization.

He noted that the WHO has advised against total lifting of lockdown or

community quarantine protocols.

The government has set the parameters for establishing epidemiological

curve, rate of acceleration and rate of deceleration, among others. There is

a need to ensure that public health capacities and systems are in place to

identify, isolate, test, trace and quarantine affected individuals.

The Philippines as of Tuesday confirmed 6,599 COVID-19 cases, of whom 437

died and 653 recovered. Reuters tallied 2.5 million cases and 172,927 deaths

globally.

TRUMP IMMIGRATION BAN TO LAST 60 DAYS, TARGETS THOSE SEEKING 'GREEN CARDS'

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his new U.S. immigration

ban would last 60 days and apply to those seeking 'green cards' for

permanent residency in an effort to protect Americans seeking to regain jobs

lost because of the coronavirus.

Trump plans to institute the ban through an executive order, which he said

he was likely to sign on Wednesday. He said it would not apply to

individuals entering the United States on a temporary basis and would be

re-evaluated once the 60-day period had passed.

Trump said that pausing immigration would put "unemployed Americans first in

line for jobs" as the country re-opened.

"It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be

replaced with new immigrant labor flown in from abroad. We must first take

care of the American worker," he told reporters at the White House.

Trump said there would be some exemptions in the order and he could renew it

for another 60 days or longer.

The first order would include exemptions for people involved in responding

to the coronavirus outbreak, including farm workers and those helping to

secure U.S. food supplies, the official said.

NORTH KOREAN MEDIA SILENT ON KIM'S WHEREABOUTS AS SPECULATION ON HEALTH

RAGES

SEOUL - North Korean state media on Wednesday made no mention of new

appearances by leader Kim Jong Un, a day after intense international

speculation over his health was sparked by media reports he was gravely ill

after a cardiovascular procedure.

South Korean and Chinese officials and sources familiar with US intelligence

have cast doubt on the South Korean and US media reports, while the White

House said it was closely monitoring the matter.

"I just hope he's doing fine," Trump told a White House news conference on

Tuesday. "I've had a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un. And I'd like

to see him do well. We'll see how he does. We don't know if the reports are

true."

Asked whether he would try to reach out to Kim to check on his condition,

Trump said: "Well I may, but I just hope he's doing fine."

'TOO EARLY' TO TELL IF PHILIPPINES FLATTENED COVID-19 CURVE: HEALTH DEPT

MANILA - It is "too early" to tell if the Philippines has flattened the

curve of new COVID-19 infections, the Department of Health said Wednesday,

the eve of President Rodrigo Duterte's decision on whether or not to modify

the 6-week lockdown of Luzon to contain the pandemic.

"It is still too early to say but we are studying the numbers," said Health

Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Cases of the respiratory disease now take 5 days to double from the previous

3 days before the lockdown, she told ANC.

Whether or not the lockdown is extended, the Philippines "will have a new

normal where we will always practice social distancing, the always washing

of hands and other non-pharmaceutical interventions," said Vergeire.

"We all know that the virus will not be removed or the virus will still be

here by May 1," she said.

SOTTO BACKS 'MODIFIED' LOCKDOWN EXTENSION FOR METRO MANILA, WORST-HIT AREAS

MANILA - Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Wednesday said he

favors a "modified" lockdown extension in Metro Manila and other worst-hit

areas by the COVID-19 after Luzon's enhanced community quarantine ends on

April 30.

Sotto cited recommendations from medical experts and former Cabinet

officials in a meeting with government executives last Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte is set to decide Thursday on the fate of Luzon's

lockdown. He initially placed Metro Manila under an enhanced community

quarantine on March 15, and later expanded the measure to the entire island.

"Ang inaasahan ko at sana ay mangyari ay modified. Meaning iyong mga

biggest-hit na areas katulad ng NCR (National Capital Region) eh hindi pwede

i-lift, kailangan i-extend pero may modifications," he told radio DZMM.

"Tapos 'yung iba namang areas na hindi naman talaga apektado masyado, may

mga probinsiya na wala eh. Yung mga areas na 'yun, enhanced social or safe

distancing."

Sotto said most medical experts believe cases of COVID-19 in the country

will spike if the lockdown was lifted abruptly.

BILLIONAIRE RAZON SAYS PHILIPPINES SHOULD ALLOW SOME BUSINESSES TO REOPEN

MANILA -- Billionaire Enrique Razon said Wednesday businesses that can test

their employees for COVID-19 and bring them to work should be allowed to

reopen, as the government weighs the "tough choice" between saving lives and

keeping the economy from dying.

A second lockdown will be "disastrous" and will need an additional P1

trillion in government spending "just to keep things intact," Razon said in

an exclusive interview with ANC.

"We are really, proverbially, between a rock and a hard place. ItÂ’s a tough

choice. We let the economy die or we let the people die. ItÂ’s really a

terrible choice to make," he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte is to decide within the week on the extension or

modification of the Luzon lockdown, which is scheduled to end on April 30.

There is "no question" that the Philippines is in a recession and a second

lockdown could lead to a depression, said Razon who controls port operator

International Container Terminal Services Inc and casino business Bloomberry

Resorts.

Companies with zero infections and those that can handle their employees

should be allowed to reopen, including manufacturing, hotels and

construction, he said.

Public transportation is a concern since it can allow the virus to spread,

he said.

"If you move the virus around in society through public transportation, I

think a second lockdown could be really disastrous to the economy," he said.

DUTERTE: P10 MILLION TO PINOY WHO CAN DISCOVER VACCINE

MANILA — President Duterte has offered up to P10 million as reward to anyone

who can find a way to defeat “public enemy number one.”

No, he is not offering a bounty for terrorists or drug lords. The reward is

being offered to anyone who can develop a cure for the coronavirus disease

2019 (COVID-19), which has infected more than 6,000 people in the country

and sidelined thousands of workers and businesses.

“Because COVID-19 is public enemy number one not only in the Philippines,

but also in the whole world, the President is announcing that he will give a

reward of up to P10 million to any Filipino who can discover a vaccine

against COVID-19,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press

briefing yesterday.

Roque said Duterte has also vowed to provide a “substantial grant” to the

University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital for the

development of the vaccine.

120,000 SMALL BUSINESSES QUALIFY FOR WAGE SUBSIDY

MANILA — More than 120,000 small businesses have pre-qualified for a wage

subsidy program for workers sidelined by the Luzon-wide enhanced community

quarantine, the government said yesterday.

The program, which will provide each worker P5,000 to P8,000 in wage

subsidy, is expected to benefit 3.4 million employees of businesses that

suspended operations due to restrictions implemented to contain the

coronavirus disease. The giving of subsidies will last for two months and

cost P50.8 billion.

“The DOF (Department of Finance) says that it has informed 124,606 small

businesses that they are pre-qualified for this program,” Cabinet Secretary

Karlo Nograles said at a press briefing.

“The application (for the wage subsidy program) is still open and we invite

you to apply so your employees can receive this benefit,” he added.

LANAO DEL SUR EXPANDS COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORTS TO FAR-FLUNG AREAS

The Lanao del Sur provincial government expanded its relief operations to

far-flung areas to ease the situation of residents displaced by the

province-wide coronavirus quarantine.

The provincial government, the provincial police office and units of the

Army's 103rd Brigade have been in charge of continuing humanitarian works in

the province, which has been under quarantine since March.

Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong said the local government units in the

province have also been helping his office carry out its relief operations

in remote barangays.

Adiong said the office of the provincial agriculturist has also embarked on

programs intended to maximize the propagation of short-term crops and

vegetables by Maranaw farmers to cushion the adverse impact on their

productivity of the province-wide quarantine.

“We are now initiating contingency maneuvers as part of our long-range

preparations for our war on COVID-19,” Adiong said Wednesday.

He said they have also been enforcing measures to keep the prices of

freshwater fishes from the vast Lake Lanao low while the province is under a

health emergency.

TAGUIG CITY TO CARRY OUT DRIVE-THRU TESTING FOR COVID-19

Taguig City will be carrying out a barangay-based and drive-thru testing for

COVID-19, Mayor Lino Cayetano said.

In an interview with ANC's "Headstart", Cayetano said five health centers in

Taguig City will start testing on Wednesday. The city also has two

drive-thru sites for testing.

Cayetano said the city is ready to test 10,000 people but those who want to

be tested would have to be assessed first.

ILOILO CITY REINSTATES LIQUOR BAN A DAY AFTER LIFTING IT

ILOILO CITY - Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas reinstated the liquor ban in

this city Wednesday, a day after ordering its lifting.

Treñas said "some incidents involving intoxicated persons last night"

prompted him to reinstate the ban on alcoholic beverages.

"In view of the various incidents due to intoxicated persons and in view of

the many other important activities undertaken by our security personnel and

upon the advice coming from various sectors, I am reimposing the ban on the

sale of alcoholic drinks effective immediately until further notice," he

said in a Facebook post.

The mayor on Tuesday issued an executive order allowing the sale of liquor

anew in Iloilo City. The order was supposed to be implemented on Wednesday.

But instead, Treñas issued a new executive order reinstating the ban on

alcoholic beverages. He also instructed authorities to ensure that residents

comply with the liquor ban.

NO MORE WARNING BEFORE ARREST UNDER 'TIGHTER' ECQ AS PNP LEADS CONTACT

TRACING

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will be handling all contact tracing

efforts for probable and suspect cases of the novel coronavirus disease 2019

(COVID-19) from here on out, its chief said on Tuesday.

In a press briefing Tuesday afternoon, PNP chief Lieutenant General Archie

Gamboa said that this was part of a tighter enforcement of the enhanced

community quarantine on the part of the national police, particularly in

Metro Manila, Region III and Calabarzon.

Gamboa said that the order was coursed through the DOH and DILG.

HEALTH GROUPS SUPPORT DUQUE AMID RESIGNATION CALLS

The Philippine Medical Association, Philippine Hospital Association, Private

Hospital Association of the Philippines, and the Philippine College of

Hospital Administrators said they support Health Secretary Francisco Duque

III amid calls for his resignation.

"We don't change horses in the middle of the stream and instead we should

hold on to one another's hand so tight so that, faced with this viral storm,

we cross the stream together," the statement read.

ISKO MORENO PLACES SAMPALOC UNDER 48-HOUR LOCKDOWN

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno placed Sampaloc under 48-hour total lockdown

starting 8 p.m. Thursday (April 23) until 8 p.m. Saturday (April 25).

The Sampaloc district has the most number of COVID-19 patients in the city

with 99 cases as of April 20, 2020.

FARMERS FROM FAR-FLUNG AREAS HAVE YET TO RECEIVE GOV'T CASH AID: KMP

Some farmers in far-flung areas have yet to receive cash aid from the

Department of Agriculture, as the sector reels from the effects of the

coronavirus disease 2019 in terms of production, a group claimed Wednesday.

Danilo Ramos of farmers' group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas said

millions of farmers have yet to receive cash aid, adding that the amount and

the turn-around period has been "slow."

"Bukod po sa napakaliit, kaunting-kaunti, napakabagal na makarating sa mga

magsasaka kahit po sinasabing data pero gusto ko pong banggitin na marami

pong ulat sa aming provincial chapters eh marami pong hindi nakakatanggap,"

Ramos told radio DZMM.

DA in a press statement dated April 6 said it planned to distribute P5,000

in subsidy under the Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) for almost

600,000 of rice farmers bearing the brunt of the enhanced community

quarantine.

Ramos urged the agriculture department to provide cash aid instead of loans

for farmers ailing in the lockdown.

"Baon sa utang ang mga magsasaka," he explained.

UP REFUTES REPORTS ON STRANDED CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WHO RESORTED TO PICKING

FRUITS, EATING STRAY ANIMALS

MANILA — The University of the Philippines Diliman refuted social media

posts and reports that a group of construction workers stranded inside its

campus resorted to eating stray animals and fruits from trees in the area to

get by this lockdown period.

A PEP.ph report citing information from Alfred Allan Jose, said to be the

founder of Quezon City COVID-19 Food and Goods donation, said that

construction workers left in the Diliman compound resorted to eating rats

and stray cats to alleviate their hunger. They also started eating fruits

from trees inside the campus.

According to the report, the workers could not come home to their provinces

due to the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.

ABS-CBN also reported on Tuesday that some construction workers had to pick

fruits from trees to fill their stomachs after the three sacks of rice given

by their employer ran out.

But UP Diliman issued a bulletin on late Tuesday night saying that its

Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Planning and Development talked to the

workers who said they received P4,000 on March 17 an P2,000 on April 14 from

their employers.

METEOR SHOWER VISIBLE TONIGHT

MANILA — Up to 15 “bright and fast” meteors will light up the sky tonight

until dawn tomorrow.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services

Administration (PAGASA) said the Lyrid meteor shower would peak tonight.

“Although not numerous, Lyrids are bright and fast meteors,” PAGASA said.

According to the website earthsky.org, Lyrids produce 10 to 15 meteors per

hour.

“No matter where you are on Earth, the best time to watch is between

midnight and dawn,” the website said.

Meteor showers can be seen with the naked eye.

PAGASA said the Lyrid meteor shower has been observed for more than 2,000

years.

METRO SIZZLES AT 35ºC

MANILA — The temperature in Metro Manila hit 35.8 degrees Celsius yesterday,

the hottest recorded so far this year, the state weather bureau said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services

Administration said the warmest temperature was recorded at the PAGASA

Science Garden in Quezon City at 3:10 p.m.

Meanwhile, the heat index – the temperature as felt by the human body –

reached 39 degrees Celsius, PAGASA said.

Heat index is defined by the weather bureau as the “human discomfort index

that gives the ‘apparent’ temperature or what humans perceive or feel as the

temperature affecting their body.”

On Monday, PAGASA recorded the hottest temperature in the country so far

this year at 39 degrees Celsius in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

‘YOU ARE RARE’: JESSY MENDIOLA SHARES BIRTHDAY MESSAGE FOR BOYFRIEND LUIS

MANZANO

MANILA — Jessy Mendiola took to social media to greet her boyfriend, Luis

Manzano, who turned 39 on Tuesday.

In a post on Instagram, Mendiola once again expressed her love for Manzano

as she described the good qualities of the actor-host.

“You are rare. I’m grateful to have met such a man as you. I’ve always

admired your patience and kindness. Not once have you made anyone feel

uncomfortable in your presence. People light up when you walk into a room

and you always make sure that every person youÂ’re with feels important.

Thank you for having such a wonderful heart,” Mendiola wrote in the caption.

“I wish you good health, happiness and more than anything else... what your

heart truly desires. Happy birthday my love. I love you,” the actress added.

The couple will mark their 4th anniversary this June.

SPORTS

PSC PROVIDES HELP TO ATHLETES, COACHES

MANILA — The Philippine Sports Commission will implement the government’s

Social Amelioration Program or SAP for national athletes and coaches during

the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The PSC Board will approve the SAP for all members of the national team.

Full details will be announced on April 30,” said PSC commissioner Ramon

Fernandez after the board headed by chairman William Ramirez met online

yesterday.

Fernandez said Philippine team members will receive P5,000 to P10,000

depending on the extent of the global pandemic.

The government agency will source the money from its remaining funds since

the Philippine Gaming Corp. has placed its monthly allocation to the PSC on

hold.

“Our accounting department is now in the process of studying it because it

will depend on how much money the PSC has left since the PAGCOR is not

remitting money to us for now,” said Fernandez.

Fernandez said special athletes under the PSC care will also benefit from

the SAP.

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 50.79

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is

always a vice. - Thomas Paine